Journey Out From Between a Rock And a Hard Place
by Yearning Ghost Landing
Summary: Zelgadis is on a journey, one he would much rather be doing alone, to find a cure. Along the way he runs into his friends who continued to follow him trying to help. They are worried he might be going down the same path Rezo did, when he became obsessed with finding a cure for his blindness. Will Zelgadis find the answers he is seeking or will he only find new frustrations?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

'It's such a beautiful day just to sit back and relax' Lina thought 'No life threatening monsters to fight, no world ending problems to solve. Just a blue sky and the warm sun over head and a river full of fish to eat below.' Another fish got pulled out of the river and added to the ever growing pile.

Gourry was still trying to get a fire going to cook all the fish Lina was catching. "Don't you have that fire going yet, jellyfish for brains?" Lina ask. 'Do I have to do everything on my own?' Lina pointed her hands at the pile of wood that Gourry was leaning over. "BURST FLARE" Lina cast the the spell as she turned back to look at the river.

Gourry was set flying back a few feet. His ash covered face wearing a confused expression as he tried to figure out what happened. He looked back at what was just a stack of wood a second ago but now was a raging fire. "Fire started!" he said cheerfully like he had started it himself. He got up and walked over to the massive pile of fish Lina had caught. After getting nine or ten ready to cook, he walked back to the fire. "I hope Amelia and Zelgadis get here before their portion of the fish gets cold...or eaten" Gourry said "When are they getting back?"

"Don't you remember anything?" Lina growled. Then she sigh and clinically explained for what felt like the hundred time. "We have not seen them in months. Amelia had to go back to the castle to check in with Phil. Remember she hadn't been home for some time. Zel decided to look into some rumors about a ancient library near Seyruun. So they headed out together. I am sure we will run into them again soon. Amelia always seems to quickly get bored with being just Seyuun's princess and has to starts traveling again. As for Zel, well he is always around somewhere and we always seem to run into each other." She moved over the the fire, shaking her head as she watches Gourry try to take a bite out of one of the obviously still raw fish before putting it back to cook some more.

As the pile of fish was eaten, as quickly as they would cook, Lina and Gourry talk about what they were planning on doing next. They had heard rumors that just past the next town was a set of ruins that a bandit group had taken over as their hide out. Lina talked about all the treasure they could get if they took out the bandits, and who knows maybe there was some magic items or spell buried in the lower levels of the ruins.

"You will have to control you temper if you want any of the ruins left to explore. Can't just throw a Dragon Slave and be done with it." Gourry add during a break in Lina's ramblings but he was not to sure that Lina heard him or that she cared about his input.

So after their late lunch Lina had a quick lay about as Gourry put out the fire and buried all of there fishy scraps. They were going to head off to the town that was plagued by the bandit but Lina made up their mind up that this was as good a camp site as anywhere else. They could walk to the town in the morning and make it in time for a late breakfast at the local restaurant or inn. She looked over to Gourry from where she was laying and said "I mean the ruins aren't going anywhere and neither are the bandits. It won't matter if we Fireball them tonight or tomorrow."

"Yeah" Gourry add as he scratched the cheek "Only the crazy, hot headed bandit killer, Lina Inverse, would going after a ruined temple full with bandits." Gourry regretted that sentence as he was sent filling back by a punch to the face from the now standing Lina. Lina lays back down watching the clouds drift through the blue sky, dreaming of the gold those bandits have stolen and she was going to retrieve for herself. Little did she know that the bandit camp was only the start of their next adventurer.

* * *

"Are you sure about this Mr. Zelgadis?" ask Amelia as she hurried to keep up with the chimera. "How do we know that this set of ruins are still standing?"

"I don't but it is worth checking out. The ancient diary I found says that the temple was used for healing and white magic research when it was still in use. It helped with extreme ailments that were considered incurable. Maybe it is nothing but maybe there is a white magic spell there that will help me reverse Rezo's spell and get me back my old body. Either way I need to check this out but I never said you had to come. This is my problem after all" Zelgadis said.

Amelia stopped walking and looked down sadly. "Your problems are my problems. That's what it means to be friends." she shy whispered more to herself then for him to hear. "Anyway It has been a long time since I have been out and about, fighting for Justice. So hopefully we can find some evil doers or wrongs to be righted." She pumped herself back up with excitement.

Zelgadis stops and turns around to see Amelia standing on a branch of the tree that is over the road proudly proclaiming. "It is the job of us, the soldiers of Justice, to help those who can't help themselves, where ever and whenever we can." She jumped down from the tree to land next to Zel but she landed on her face with a loud bang. Zelgadis knelt down to help her up.

"You know." He started to say as he used a recovery spell on Amelia's forehead. "If you insists on climbing up to those high places to make your speeches about justice, then maybe you should do a little more practicing on getting down safely. I think you are hurting yourself more at the moment then striking terror in the opposition." When her head was healed again, he offered her a hand up. She was slightly embarrassed but when she saw a rare smile on Mr. Zelgadis face she couldn't help but smile too.

"Well lets keep going!" She said trying to move quickly away from where she just face planted. "I think there is a town up a head with a inn. We can rest up there and still make it to the ruins early tomorrow. How does that sound?" She was not expecting him to answer. Whenever the subject of staying in a town gets brought up Mr. Zelgadis gets stone quiet but she needs a place with a bath and she wanted a warm bed after so many nights of sleeping outside. So if he wasn't going to say no, she would take his silence for a yes.

As they climbed to the crest of the hill, Zelgadis saw what was basically a small farming village with a tiny inn near the entrance of the town. Zelgadis sighed, this was the kind of small town that he felt he need to stay clear of. He couldn't remember how many small village he has been chased out of just based on his appearance alone. It is easier to hide in larger towns and cities because there are more people but he doesn't really feel comfortable in crowds either now that he thinks about it. With a sad, nerve exhale, he put up his hood and mask, ready himself to be surrounded by people who were going to just stare, gawk and be fearful of him, but his friend wanted to stay in the village. That plus a hot cup of tea and a warm, soft bed could make up for one night of lost comfort on his part.

Amelia excitedly skipped into the inn and right up to the bar. "I was wondering if you have two rooms available, please." She said. The bartender looked up with slight confusion. "Do you have a traveling company?" the bartender asked as he got Amelia the room keys. Amelia turned to see that Mr. Zelgadis was waiting in the corner by the stairs that lead up to the room. She shook her head and point, "Yes, he is waiting for the keys over by the stairs." The bartender looked over uncomfortable at the swordsman who was waiting in the shadows and had his face almost completely covered. With the bandits attacking this town every so often one could could not be too careful but the girl looked like a perfectly normal traveler and money was money so he handed over the keys to two rooms. Amelia hurried over to Mr. Zelgadis handing him his key and opened up her mouth to ask him if he wanted to have some dinner before heading up to their rooms, only to see his back retreating up the stairs.

Zelgadis took the key and hurried up the stair, for going whatever Amelia was about to say and that hot cup of tea he had earlier been thinking about. When the door to the room was finally closed, he leaned against it, let out a large breath that he had not know he was holding. Pushing off the door, he walked over to the bed and laid on his back staring up at the ceiling. He thought about his one simple wish that, even if there was only a small chance, he might find a cure tomorrow. He laid his forearm across his eyes blocking out the light of the moon that came through his window. "No more hiding in corners. Being able to drink a cup of tea or have dinner in public without getting looks of fear. Never again being afraid to enter towns without a mask or hood. Meeting people for the first time and not having to worry about them trying to kill me before they get to know me." These were his wishes he thought about as he fell into a restless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Amelia woke up after a peaceful night on a very comfortable bed. She saw that the sun was barely above the horizon. "Why Mr. Zelgadis wants to wake up and leave so early I will never understand! The ruins have been there for years and if they are still standing, it's not like someone is going to destroy it in the few hours between dawn and a decent hour for someone to wake up." Amelia slowly got cleaned up and dressed for the day. Then she left her room and walked to Zelgadis' door. She had not seen him since she had given him his room key. She had hoped they could have a nice dinner together and talk about there plans after they checked out this set of ruins, but maybe he will be up for breakfast instead. She could never understand why he hated to be around people so much. Sure, many people thought he was a monster at first glance, including herself, Miss Lina and Mr Gourry, but once people got to know him everyone saw that was completely not true.

After knocking on the door a few times, she thought maybe he had already left his room and went down to the dinning room. As she reach the bottom of the stairs, she looking into the dinning room. There Mr Zelgadis was staring deeply into a cup of tea. He is sitting in the back corner of the room at a table that everyone seemed to be giving a wide birth. She found herself wondering if he picked that table because people seemed to be avoiding that area of the room or people were avoiding it because he was sitting there. As she watch him without him know she was there, she noted how sad and lonely. "Poor Mr. Zedgadis" she whispered to herself "I wish he would see that he is not as alone as he thinks he is."

She walks over to the table. "Good Morning Mr. Zedgadis! How did you sleep?" She noted that only now that he heard her voice did he lower his mask from covering his mouth and took a sip of the Hot tea he ordered. After he finishing his sip, he looked up to her and said "It was a pleasant night of sleep and they have very good tea here." She smiled at him and said "That's good."

After Amelia finished the light breakfast she had ordered, Zelgadis got up to reattach his sword, that he leaned against that wall behind his chair, to his belt. As she gave back the keys to the rooms Zelgadis was already walking out the door. Amelia thanked them for everything and paid for the breakfast, then she ran after her friend. As they left the town and were back on the road surrounded by trees and wilderness, she could see the weight lift off Zelgadis' shoulder from having to be around by so many people he did not know. Now that it was just her and him, he felt he could once again be himself and not have to hide.

* * *

Lina's stomach woke her up the next morning, with it's protests about her sleeping in. She stretched her hands over her head as she stood up and mumbled her regrets about the decision to camp out yesterday instead of walking through the late afternoon and evening to the town, even though it was her decision. Now she would have to wait until they made it to town for breakfast, which would be at least an hour or two. Gourry was still snoring away, unaware that the sun was up or that a very hungry Lina was wishing she was already in town with a nice hot breakfast.

"Get up lazy bum. I want to get breakfast as soon as possible." Lina yelled at Gourry as she pushed him over with a her foot. He just keep snoring. "We need to get going, NOW!" Lina shakes him until he groggy opens his eyes.

"Morning, Lina!" Gourry said excitedly "What's for breakfast?"

"Get up! No food until we reach the town. Lets get moving" Lina said as she started walking to the road that lead to the town, leaving a barely awake Gourry still sitting on the ground. Gourry hurried gathering up his sword and other armor that he didn't wear to sleep in. Then hooped after Lina on one foot and tried to tug his boot on the other.

"Hey Lina, Wait up!" Gourry yelled after her, as he was now running and trying to get his belt latched around his waist.

* * *

It was a relatively serene trip for Zelgadis and Amelia, until they took the turn off into the woods towards the ruins finding a small almost overgrown animal path to follow. Amelia was chattering away and even though Zel did not add much to the conversation, he was happily listening to his friend. All his anxiety from the morning had left soon after they were out of sight of the town, and now he was looking forward to exploring a long abandoned temple in relative peace and quiet.

Then much to his surprise they came across another persons standing right in their way. The hooded figure was standing guard of the animal path and scanning his surroundings though at the moment his back was to Zelgadis and Amelia. Amelia didn't even seem to notice that there was someone else was present, so she was surprised when Zelgadis grabbed her around the waist and covered her mouth, carrying her as quietly as possible into the wooded area surrounding the path.

"No one else should be around here. This doesn't look like a well worn path, so why would someone be standing guard." Zelgadis whispered in her ear, never moving his hands from her waist or her mouth. "Something is up. Lets proceed with caution."

Amelia couldn't help the blush from spreading over her cheeks, from the extended and extremely close contact between herself and Mr. Zelgadis. She trying to stop thinking about his arm being around her waist and her heart beating a mile a minute. Instead trying to listen to what he was saying about the mystery man she could only just make out through the foliage they were now hiding behind. Why was this man there? What was he guarding? What evil could he or any companions he might have be up too? As she wondered all these things, she felt Mr. Zelgadis slowly move from behind her, and creep to the bush nearest the figure.

Zelgadis pulled out his sword, readying himself to attack the man standing a few feet away but Amelia felt uneasy. This man really did nothing wrong, other then be standing in the middle of a path that should be deserved but they were walking down it too. They couldn't just kill him, we could be harming an innocent traveler. We need more information. Then she got an idea. She moved to kneel next to Zelgadis, putting her hand on his arm, indicating to him not to move or attack. She stood up, putting her hands to her side and cast "Sleeping". A circle of magic moved out from them consuming the man who fell over and started snoring. "Good thinking Amelia" Zelgadis said as he sheathed his sword. He moved out from behind the bush and pulled the man back to where they were hiding.

Zelgadis quick searched the man for any clue as to who he was. He had a old, worn sword, and a hand full of hidden knifes. A mix of gold coins from different kingdoms that he was keeping in an old coin bag that had been patched up a few time from where the fabric had worn out. He also had a collection of jewelry that seemed out of place. One necklace stood out to Zel. It was a locket that had been removed forcefully from the owner. The clasp that closed the chain was broken like it had been ripped off the neck of who ever was wearing it and one of the hinges on the locket hung lose. As Zelgadis pick it up to look at it, it fall open in his hand, revealing a picture of a teenage girl who resembled the waitress who served him tea earlier that day. This was all the proof he needed that this man and any others they might run across were bandits and thieves that had at least once attacked that village down the hill, so if they were in the way for him finding a cure he needed to feel no remorse in taking them down.

"Mr. Zelgadis" Amelia whispered from a tree she climbed to scout the rest of the path. She pointed out over the tree line.

"Ray Wing" Zelgadis said, he was not sure if any of the trees would hold him to let him see what Amelia was pointing at. When he got to her level, he saw the ruins but he also saw they were teaming with evil looking swordsman and wizards. Many of the men were drinking or sleeping, surrounded by piles of gold, riches and goods that they must of stolen. There were a number of guards surrounding the circumference of the old temple. Zelgadis heard himself growl. He knew that a group of money-grubbing thieves making a camp there might mean that anything that could have helped him was long since sold or destroyed.

"Come on Amelia. We are clearing out that temple." Zelgadis growled and pulled out his sword. "They do not belong there!" He landed back down to the ground and took off at a sprint. Amelia jump down from the tree and ready her self for an epic fight for justice against those who would steal from innocent people, Miss Lina would be so proud. Then she took off to follow Zelgadis.

* * *

Lina and Gourry had finally made it into the town around noon and found a little inn that had a even smaller restaurant as part of it. They found a table and ordered everything on the menu each, plus quite a few duplicates. The waitress looked at them as though they were crazy, and whispered as she walked way, "First a monster who only drinks tea, then normal looking people who eat like monsters. It has been one crazy day."

As Lina's and Gourry's table of food was placed in front of them, they ripped into which ever plate of food was put in front of them. They were eating like they never saw food before, not noticing all the looks from the other patrons and the staff, including their rather frazzled waitress. They did not talk to each other or even look at each other as they just kept grabbing at more and more food, until the last delicious meatball was left. Two forks collided over the plates inches from that meatball. Then the two friends, about to turn enemies, made fire-fulled eye contact and they both tried to push their fork through the others. This only resulted in both forks breaking sending Gourry's fork flying into the opposition wall and Lina's fork embedding itself into the bar. Lina and Gourry never broke eye contact even as everyone in the restaurant dived for cover from any other silverware made shrapnel.

"We will take another order of meatballs and...two roasted lambs leg, please." Lina, never breaking eye contact, yelled to the waitress hiding behind the bar with the bartender. 'I think I need a new job' was all the waitress kept thinking as she crawled towards the kitchen before finally standing up to hurry through the door.

Gourry excitedly looked to the kitchen door where the waitress was hurrying through "Oh and could you bring us some dessert too, please?"

Everything seemed to calm down at the table. The meatball laid on its plate forgotten. Lina and Gourry chatted calmly about this and that, as the other customers slowly got back to eating their food but kept up there guard.

After paying and leaving the restaurant with no only other incidents, they started walking to the ruins. It wasn't that long a walk. It was just up a road a little ways until there was a turn off to the forest path. This was the path that would lead Lina to more gold, jewels and adventure. For all the world saving and the evil defeating that she has done there has not been to many rewards being given. At the end of this path all that would change, and the rewards would be all hers...and maybe a little for Gourry too.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

As Lina saw the ancient ruins that is at the top of the hill coming into view, she kept thinking she heard the bandits making a commotion about something. She kept thinking that any moment she would be fighting against watchmen and sword welding bandits, ready to defend their camp, but nothing ever happened. They had seen no one their whole trip up the hill. There were no guards to knock out nor any patrols to try to avoid. She was most definitely disappointed that there was no warm up bad guys to fight. This was suppose to be a fun and active adventure but it was turning into a lazy afternoon walk. She even hear Gourry yawn a few times as he enjoy the afternoon sun. She was getting angry! What was the point in traveling all this way, if they weren't even going to try to put up a fight. That's why she got into the bandit crushing business anyway, the fighting and the action. She wanted to work, well pretend to work, for her rewards and feel excited by the workout. So far all this adventure was doing was boring her out of her mind, and her Dragon Slave trigger finger always got twitchy when she was bored.

As the entrance of the ruins came into view a about 100 feet straight ahead, there was still not a hide or hair of anyone. This was the last straw, if they were just waiting to be blown up then Lina would be happy to help them out. Lina grab Gourry by his long blond hair and dragged him into the forests surrounding the ruins. "No one ignores Lina Inverse when you stand between her and her gold." She said to herself as she finds a hill with in the wooded area that would be an ideal place to cast the Dragon Slave and lob it into the center of the ruins. She wanted treasure sure but what she was really looking for was adventure, if the bandits weren't going to put up any fight and make this at least a little fun then no amount of gold she stole would make her feel better then seeing the fiery remains of a bandit encampment after a Dragon Slave hit the center of it. Sure if she thought about this rationally, once she pushed her way through the front door there were be plenty of fighting and she would not blow up all the treasure but Lina was bored, and when she got bored, she got mad which causes her not to always think past what would be the quickest way to feel better.

Gourry had been quiet for most of the trip up to wherever they were going. Lina seemed to be moving with a lot of purpose, but nothing seemed to come of all this traveling. So Gourry let himself get lost in the lovely day and the nice afternoon walk. He quickly come out of this when he saw Lina getting ready to cast a spell, that he knew on sight even with his poor memory. There was no reason for Lina to dragon slave the temple ruins, that they could just walk into. No one even called her little girl or flat chested, well no one that he could remember. "Why does she always jump to destroying everything, I know she knows other spells that could do a similar job without making a crater out of this lovely forest?" He said to himself as he got ready to try and stop this destructive spell caster before she finished what she was saying.

Lina raised her hands above her head, readying herself to collect the massive magical power between her two hands. "Darkness beyond twilight, Crimson beyond blood that flows;" She began. "Are you sure this is what you want to do Lina? What about the treasures? Huh?" Gourry tried to get Lina to stop. Lina did not care, she had made up her mind and she continued "buried in the stream of tim..."

"ElMEKIA LANCE" a very familiar voice interrupted Lina's Spell and sent black smoke to rise from the middle of the bandit camp. Lina lowered her arms as she watched and steamed with anger. "Someone beat me to the treasure!" She said to herself and clenched her fists.

"Looks like we are not the only ones to find these ruins? Who do you think got here before us Lina?" Gourry said with excitement and curiosity.

"GOURRY" Lina yell more out a frustration then something Gourry did wrong. She was about the start recasting the Dragon Slave to play back the would-be-hero that thought of stealing her prize, when she heard it and had to stop. She heard someone, a young female, singing a song who's main theme was Justice and she knew just where to look for the source...up. There at the highest point of the ruined temple was Amelia, singing to herself and keeping time by waving her hand. As Lina tried to wrap her head around Amelia being here, attacking the bandits she was planning to attack, another Eimekia Lance crashed through the wall at the bottom of the hill that Lina and Gourry was standing on. A bandit came flying through the newly made hole and soon a heartless swordsman was standing over him threateningly with a sword at the bandit's neck.

"See I knew we should have saved Amelia and Zel some fish. I knew they would be back looking for it." Gourry said staring at the new arrival of their friends.

Lina was broken out of her shock and confusion, by Gourry's shock and confusion. "Wow I am surprised you remember who they are but I am just as shock as you are to see them here. Oh and Gourry..." Gourry turned away from the ruins and to Lina wondering why she said his name. "for the last time THEY AREN'T HERE FOR THE FISH!"

"You mean they aren't here for _**their**_ fish, right Lina?" Gourry said with a big goofy smile on his face.

"GRRRRRR...sure Gourry sure" Lina gave up trying to talk to Gourry. She started walking down the hill to find out what Amelia and Zelgadis were doing here.

* * *

Zelgadis maniacally laughed as he drew his sword and slowly stalked through the large hole he just blasted the last conscious bandit. He lend over the cowering man and point the sword at his throat. "Now I will get the answers that your unfortunate friends were unwilling to give!" He lowered his voice to a growl. He could play the part of the monster that they all saw him as very well. He grabbed the bandit by his shirt and pulled him closer to his own snarling face. "Where is the enter for the lower part of the ruins? Has it been disturbed by your money grubbing boss?" The shaking bandit opened his mouth to answering the monster that had him by the shirt but was interrupted.

"Zel...HEY ZEL! If anyone saw you now and did not know you like we know you they might really believe you were dangerous." Lina said laughing.

Zelgadis immediately relaxed and made eye contact with his friends. He face went back to his neutral, normal expression and his sword arm relaxed to his side. Through he had not let go of the now rather confused bandit's shirt. "Lina, Gourry what are you doing coming after a set of ruins only known for white magic and healing? I doubt that there were any riches or treasures here before the bandits took over." He started thinking over what he was saying as he was saying it. That's when it clicked in his head. "Unless you are here for the bandits, not the ruins of this temple. Luck I got here first or there would not be any ruins left to explore" He stared Lina in the eyes making sure she understood she was not to disturb anything.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?" Lina shouted.

"He means that you would have likely gotten mad at the bandit for some reason and dragon slaved them. Which would have flatting the whole mountain side." Gourry explained, smiling at Zelgadis, and received a head nod from him partly in agreement and partly in greeting. "Which you almost did if Zel's spell hadn't interrupted..." Gourry never finished that sentence as Lina hit him into the wall behind Zelgadis.

"Yes. I know what he meant, Fish brains" Lina countered. "So Zel, why are you here? It's not like you to just attack a group of bandits for fun. Unless Amelia goaded you into the fight for the Justice of the little village being overrun with cruel, evil doers." Lina was now staring up at the princess who was still going on about the fight of the Pure Hearted Justice Lover vs Evil.

Zelgadis dropped the bandit he was still holding and pitched the bridge of his nose. He was starting to get a headache. This was suppose to be simple. Not fighting. No bandits. Minimal justice speeches. Definitely NO Lina. She was a trouble magnet if he ever knew one. "Amelia. The fight is over... AMELIA!" He called up to her as he turned to walk back through the hole he created, completely forgetting about the bandit that was now running away into the woods.

"Really? That was quick. I still had two verses and a chorus left in my Ode to the Just Hearted." Amelia yelled down as she jumped from the tower she had preciously been perched on. This time she was a little more careful then normal. She jumped from one roof top to another; working her way down to where Mr. Zelgadis was walking. When she landed safely on the ground, she finally notice Miss Lina who was still standing outside the hole, watching where the bandit ran off into the woods. "Oh when did you get here Miss Lina? Its not like you to make such a subtle entrance especially when there are bandits up to their no good ways."

Lina turned and walked up to where Amelia was now standing. "It seems this time Zel beat me to the punch" Said Lina. She was really getting sick of people implying she had no impulse control. "Where are you going by the way Zel? Why are you guys even here? Are you just going to keep ignoring me too?" As Lina kept talking she walked up behind Zelgadis. He had stop and was examining the back wall of the ruins that is built into the mountain side but never turned to acknowledge he was being talk to by Lina.

"HEY ZEL" Lina yelled as she reached out to grab his shoulder and turn him to face her. She did not like to be ignored and this was twice in one day. If people didn't start paying attention to her there would be hell to pay. But before she could grab hold of Zelgadis, Amelia jumped between them.

"Mr. Zelgadis found this old journal in a library he was exploring. It gave a map to this site and it said that at one time, a long time ago, there was research being done here into white magic and healing spells." Amelia explained as she watch her obsessed friend search for any hidden secrets or passages. She was getting concerned. He seemed more frantic then normal. "The journal said that the temple's specialty was for normally incurable ailments. I think Mr. Zelgadis was putting a lot of faith in that old journal's entry. But with the bandits being here who knows whats been disturb or destroyed. There might be nothing here" Amelia was almost whispering now but nearly jumped out of her skin as Zelgadis hit the wall causing it the shake violently and long forgotten dust to springing out of it's resting places and on the the heads of the four adventurers.

Zelgadis peaked over his shoulders at them send them a glare through this wire hair. The look was quick before he took up his search again but it did it's job to command his companions into a silence vigil.


	4. Chapter 4

Author Note:

Hello,

I am so sorry for being away for my story for so long. Life something gets in the way, and even through you keep revisiting your work you never seem to get a chance to finish it. I am going to try every hard to post more often and not leave the story without updates. I also wanted to thank my new Beta Reader, Kelly. I could not have restarted posting without you. :) So I hope you enjoy the continuation for " **Journey Out From Between a Rock And a Hard Place** "

Chapter 4

Zelgadis continued to pace the back wall of the ruins mumbling to himself. He would only stop to analyze rocks or stones that seemed to have old writings carved into them...or to reread the journal for what seemed like the thousand time. His friends were getting bored and hungry, and Gourry even resorted to napping near the fire he built. They just weren't sure if it was a good idea to distract their friend from his investigation. Finally, Amelia was sick of the silence. She started thinking of an excuse to talk to Mr Zelgadis. What she came up with was the lonely look on his face while he was sitting all alone that very morning in that inn staring into a cup of tea.

"Of course. Tea." Amelia whispered and started digging through her bag.

Lina looked on with interest as she tapped her foot and cracked all her fingers. She was getting restless and annoyed. She was not good at sitting quietly waiting for something to happen. She would normally had told Zel to get over himself and let them help. At least let them be a sounding board for his ideas! But the look in his eyes… the anger. She had previously only seen him show it to Rezo. He had never even shown that look to Xello each time he destroyed a Claire Bible manuscript. This could be a problem. Zel was becoming desperate and losing hope. Would he fall into the same trap his Grandfather did? Would he need to find a cure no matter the cost? Would Zel be the next great evil she would have to fight?

 _No, I won't allow that. I am not giving up on him, even if he gives up on himself._ She thought as she watched Amelia start heating up water for tea. Lina, stepping over the napping form of Gourry, got up to walk over to Zel to ask if she could do anything to help.

"Hey Zel, what are we looking for? An entrance? A spell carved in rock? Does the book give us any clues?" Lina said, with the most relaxed smile her face could make. "Tell me what I can do to help."

"Yeah, Mr Zelgadis, I made us some tea. Why don't you come sit down and drink some and we can plan out our next steps? I'm sure we can find the answer if we work together." Amelia yelled over from where the tea was just starting to brew.

But Zelgadis just wanted to scream at Lina's cheerful face and Amelia's friendly offer. Didn't they understand that once again he had come to a dead end? Once again, he was left with nothing. No next step, no new clue, but mostly no hope. He debated for a long time about what to do and how to answer them. He wanted to give up, so he decided to hand the reins over to Lina for better or worse.

"The journal talked about a lower level that was used for quarantine and experiments. That is what I am looking for. This wall seems to be built well after the rest of the temple so I was hoping to find a weak point that might be an old entrance to the lower section." As he talked, he continued to stare at the wall and rest his hand on it.

Lina kept smiling through Zel's speech. "Go have a rest and a cup of tea. I'll take over looking."

She pushed him towards the fire and Amelia who was holding a cup of tea. Zelgadis gave up fighting. What was the point anymore? Soon, they would be leaving, and he would have to start hunting for his next long shot. His next needle in a large hay stack.

Zelgadis sipped on the hot cup of tea Amelia gave him. His back was to the wall so he could not see what Lina was up to, which turned out to be a good thing. Lina did not have his patience whether she wanted to believe it or not. So, after she looked through the journal and studied the back of the wall a few times, she came up with her own plan. She would just blow the wall up! Setting the journal carefully down behind a group of rocks so it would be safe, she took a deep breath and cast a spell with no thought to her friends mere feet behind her.

"Fireball!"

Zelgadis dropped his half-finished tea as he stood up, shattering the cup and his thoughts. How did he not see this coming? It had been too long since Lina destroyed something. All the ruins shook and he thought everything was going to come down. The back wall was totally covered in smoke, so much so that he couldn't even see where Lina was standing. Thankfully, after a few moments of horror, the cloud of smoke and dust cleared. Lina was standing in front of an almost perfectly round hole that lead to what looked like a hall into a part of the temple that was built under the mountain. She'd found exactly what he was looking for. He fell over in disbelief and said, as he stared up into the sky, "How did you know to fire your spell at that part of the wall?"

"It seemed like the right place." Lina answered.

Gourry was woken by the explosion. When he saw his ward was alright, he walked over to Zelgadis and offered a hand to help him stand up.

"She just means dumb luck." Gourry commented as he moved to join Lina, patting Zelgadis' shoulder as he passed. Amelia nodded her agreement with Mr Gourry's statement as she looked up at Mr. Zelgadis and smiled.

"Ready to explore the hidden depths of this set of ruins, Mr. Zelgadis?" Amelia said continuing to smile "This adventure is going to be even more fun now that we are all together!" She ran up to meet Lina.

Zelgadis stood there, speechless, as his three friends peered into the passageway that Lina had just opened. He could not believe this. Did he want to yell or say thank you? What if Lina had brought everything down? What if she destroyed something? He would have never been so reckless, but he might never had found what she just did. So when Lina turned to look at him with that big smile on her face, all he could do was smile back and shake his head. He walked up to join his friends. "Let's see what we can find, shall we?"

The group quickly walked through the hall that Lina uncovered. Zelgadis and Lina led the way using a light spell so the group could see. The musty smell filled their noses and everything was covered in a thick layer of dirt and dust. A few feet away from the entrance, Gourry found an old torch attached to the wall. He lit it and carried it with him, lighting other torches on the walls along the way.

Zelgadis stopped a few times and kneeled down to pick up old pieces of parchment or books that had been long forgotten. Most of the time, he was anxiously moving, hoping to find a large lab or old library. So far it seemed like nothing more than a long hallway to nowhere.

"Here, Zel." Lina said, handing back the journal she had before blowing up the wall. "There wouldn't happen to be a map of the underground workings of this place, would there? Because that would be very handy."

"No. It mostly just talks about what they were doing here, not where they were doing it. I know that there was, at one point, an underground shelter for the infected to get treatment in safety. That is what I am hoping to find. I figured there must be some records or notes from the time period then." Zelgadis explained.

Amelia had moved ahead of them while the pair had been talking. She was down the hallway looking at some ancient carvings that seemed to be littered throughout the ruins. As she followed this latest grouping of etchings, she stopped watching where she was going. She missed the fact that she was in fact at the top of a rather large set of stairs until she took one step too many and fell all the way down to the bottom.

As she lay where she landed on her back, legs and feet still splayed up the stairs, she listened to the cries of her concerned friends racing to her. As the voices got closer, she tilted her head back to see an upside-down image of the room behind her. The walls were lined with tall book shelves and working stations. In the middle of the room was rows of beds, like she had seen in the healing rooms at the castle. This was the room Mr. Zelgadis had described, and was desperately looking for, and she had stumbled upon it.

Zel and Lina were the first to reach the bottom of the stairs and their poor accident-prone friend. They were worried because it did not look like she had even tried to move from the spot she had landed after finishing tumbling down the stairs. Normally, she would quickly bounce back after any fall and pretend it didn't happen. Lina kneeled down next to her head and gave her a quick once over to make sure things weren't broken or in need of a healing spell. Zel was on one knee next to Lina, beating himself up for ever letting Amelia walk past him. There was a reason him and Lina were in the lead. Falling down a set of stairs you didn't know was there could happen to anyone, but if he or Lina fell it would be better. Amelia was special and need to be watched out for. Plus, she always seemed to wind up like this.

Gourry finally made it down and stood on the stair over Amelia. He squatted down on the step and reached the torch out over Amelia's body to give everyone more light.

They all came to the realization that Amelia appeared to be fine, and could all breathe a collective sigh of relief. Lina and Gourry stood up, but Gourry kept his hand and torch outstretched just in case they needed the light. Zelgadis went to take Amelia's hand to help her up. He opened his mouth to say something cute about watching where she was walking. Maybe to please not hurt herself because then he would have to explain it to Phil? Amelia pulled her hand away from Zel before he had the chance. That stopped him in his tracks. Why was she not letting him help her up? Was she really hurt? He followed her hand as it stretched over her head and pointed at the room beyond them. The room at the bottom of the stairs. The room none of them ever noticed because they were so worried about Amelia.

"You found it, Amelia! It was clever of her to trick us like that, huh, Zel? Here we thought she had just fallen down the stairs, but really, she'd uncovered the velveteen room you were looking so hard for!" Gourry picked up Amelia and spun her around using one arm around her waist.

"It's QUARANTINE. And good job, Amelia." Lina said patting Zel, who still had not stood up, on the shoulder.

Zelgadis stayed where he was and took in the room in front of him. It was like the others weren't even there for a moment. He didn't see Gourry spinning Amelia on his right or feel the encouraging pat from Lina on his left. All he saw was the image of a room that was almost perfect to what he'd imagined it looked like in his mind.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

There were rows of old desks full of dust covered books and parchments along the walls. Many had scientific equipment, like mortars and pestles or flasks, long left empty. In the very back of the room, behind the cobwebs and dust, sat a desk that was apart from the rest of the lab. There was a little stool that had been knocked over long ago. On the desk itself were containers and papers scattered everywhere. It looked more like a researcher's desk than a doctor's that had treated sick patients. As soon as Zel saw it, he made a beeline to see what was on it.

The desk held a stone tablet with most of the etchings worn away by time. Zel could make out a few words like "Falls", "Healing", "Purple Rocks & Water" and "Long Living". But there was no location, no landmarks, and no map. He felt like he was headed back to square one; he could search all his life and never find a set of falls with purple rocks. In desperation, he picked up the sample bottles that were scattered around the desk, but any water that was in them had evaporated long ago.

With a heavy sigh, he set the bottle down. Sure, this could be hopeless, but he was so close now. He could feel that his answer was at his fingertips. This was a real lead, not just a hope for a book or the whispers of the Claire Bible. The ancient clinic had been where the journal said it was. It was full of signs that healing and treatments were performed here. He just needed a location, a bread crumb to follow. He started going through the parchments on the desk.

There, at the bottom of the pile of lists and notes, was a map. It was of a lake surrounded on three sides by mountains. There were a few rivers featured that seemed to be feeding into the lake through the mountains. The falls could easily be on one of those lakes or their contributories. It might take his whole life time to search all of them, but this map at least gave him a direction to head in.

Zel turned around to tilt the map more towards the light. He looked around the edges for a name of the lake or a town near the mountains. There was nothing, but Zelgadis was a logical man. He could figure this out. There were mountains on 3 sides of the lake and rivers flowing from those mountains. It had to be close to the ruins, so that the people working on curses could get fresh supplies. Maybe there would be someone in the town that knew this layout. He could find this. He had to.

"So, Mr Zelgadis, did you find anything?" Amelia said, breaking Zelgadis out of his train of thought. "I found some more old journals that could be of help."

Zel looked up to see Amelia try to balance a stack of books that was taller than she was. The stack kept tipping one way, and she would just barely recover, before it started tipping the other way. He set the map back down on the desk before rushing over to help. He used one hand to balance the top of the stack, and the other he placed gently over her hand to help hold the weight.

"Let's just set these on the ground." He said as calmly as he could.

As they set the books down, they both slipped their hands out from under the books. Zel turned back to the desk to pick up the map. Amelia reached out and grabbed Zel's hand.

"Thank you!" she said with a little blush on her cheeks. "I was afraid I was going to drop them…"

"You're welcome." Zel said. There was a moment after that when they just looked at each other. Neither really knew what to say. He looked away from her but squeezed her hand in reassurance.

"So, did you find something that helps?" She said as she let go of his hand.

"Yes, I think I found a map to a water source that they were researching. It appears that it might have healing properties." Zel said, pulling up the map to show Amelia.

"But there are no names of landmarks on the map. How do we know where to look?" Amelia said, disappointedly.

"It has to be near the runes. I'm hoping there will be a record keeper in the town, or a library where we can find some maps of the area. Then we'll see if we can find somewhere that matches the same geography." Mr. Zelgadis explained.

"What are you two chatting about?" Lina asked as she picked up a magical ruby to add to the bag she was holding. Gourry had giving up looking around at all the empty jars and was practicing sword fighting in the corner.

"Mr. Zelgadis found our next clue!" Amelia said.

"But it looks like I'll have to do more research in town before I know where I'm heading next." Zel continued Amelia's thought. "Or it could be in one of the journals Amelia found."

Amelia smiled back at him, but looked away, disappointed. Mr. Zelgadis was trying to close himself off from them again. She traveled with him enough to know.

"Great. I think I found everything I was looking for. How about we pack up the journals and head back to town?" Lina said.

Zel looked around the large room one more time and made sure nothing else caught his eye. All the books were packed away in everyone's pack. Zel made sure to hold on to the map himself. The rest of the group headed up the stairs, but Zel had this feeling he was forgetting something. He scanned the room one last time. There, on the desk in the corner closest to the entrance. It was apart from the rest of the room. It was dirty and dusty. Almost everything on it was tipped over or smashed. But the center of the desk held a blue-gray clay cup that had seen better days. There was a chip out of the rim, and the handle had long ago broken off, but something about the cup called out to Zel. Here, in a world of healing and research, sat a vessel that could never be repaired. The cup had outlived its usefulness. It looked lonely with no one left to drink from it.

"Stop personifying inanimate objects," Zelgadis said to himself.

He turned to follow his friends out, but as his foot hit the first stair, he found he could not go on. He sighed and turned around. Putting his pack down, he pulled out a small piece of cloth and wrapped the cup in it. Zel did not have many personal possessions. He did not see the need when there were always more important and useful materials to carry, but he would find room to store this forgotten cup. After he reclosed the pack, he finally exited the underground room.

* * *

As they went down the hill on their way back, Lina and Amelia were joking and laughing with each other. Gourry was keeping up with the girls. He was complaining to whomever would listen, mostly himself, that he was extremely hungry. It seemed like it was only Zel that was having problems keeping up. One hand reached into his pocket and pulled out the little broken locket that seemed to be growing heavier as he moved closer to the town. It didn't look any different. Logically, he knew that an object could not add weight to itself. He knew it was just his perception of the necklace. He was no stranger to retrieving items from bandits. He knew what people really treasured and, unless your name was Lina Inverse, it was not the bags of gold. It was always the things that were small and worth little real money. Things like the broken locket he'd found. He knew it had to be returned. It was the right thing to do, but he also knew how that server had looked at him earlier. She'd grab it quickly from his outstretched hand and pull away without even looking at him. From a safe distance, she'd examine her returned treasure. Then, the innkeeper would come over threateningly and accuse him of only returning the locket for a reward. He'd throw a piece or two of gold in Zel's face and tell him never to come around here again. He'd been in this situation before. He gave up on helping people soon after Rezo turned him. People rarely looked past his blue skin and rocky appearance. Why would someone like him just want to do what was right? He had to have an ulterior motive.

The townspeople didn't need any more distress. They must have been terrorized for awhile because of the bandits. His visit that morning probably had a lot of the people on edge. Plus, he needed to have access to the town for a little bit. At least until his research was done. He could get it back to the woman another way. Find a face that no one could see as anything other than good, kind, and caring. He sped up his walk to catch up with his friends.

Passing Gourry, he smiled as now he heard another stomach growling and joining in with the ever-growing complaints about stopping for food. Lina was now talking to Gourry about ways to solve his complaints. This was mostly because they were now her complaints as well, which left Amelia walking alone, which was perfect. Zel reached out to grab Amelia by the arm to get her to turn around. It was something he'd done a million times, but when his hand connected with her arm, she gasped and whipped around like something was about to attack. There was fear burning in her eyes.

That look made Zel pull back his hand like it had been burnt. His simple touch had frightened her. He thought, after all this time, he didn't have to worry about that with Amelia.

"Oh, Mr. Zelgadis. It was only you! You scared me. I didn't know you were back there. Was there something you needed?" Amelia said, smiling, not noticing the sad look behind his blue eyes.

"Um..." Zel tried to regain his composure. "Yeah, actually. When we pass through that little town, could you give this to the waitress that was working at the inn this morning?" He went to set the locket in her hand but thought better of it after what just happened. He dangled the locket by the chain. "I think the bandits stole it from her. It has her picture in it."

Amelia reached up and grabbed the locket. "That is so sweet. Why don't we take it together? That way you can see how happy you made her! She might even give you a hug!" Amelia smiled up at him and pushed the locket back into his hand.

"I bet she will give him a kiss on the cheek!" Lina said, as she draped herself over Zel's back and rested her chin on his left shoulder.

"Lina, really? That would be a bit much, don't you think?" Amelia asked, now sounding worried and just a little jealous.

As the two discussed what kind of reward Zel would receive, they did not notice that Zel was getting more depressed by the second. He thought his friends would understand after all their time traveling together. How could they always miss the sideways looks he gets when they're in cities and towns? Maybe he'll just wait to give the locket back until they're ready to leave. That way, when he gets kicked out, he would not need to come back.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

They were about to enter the small town at the bottom of the hill. Lina and Amelia were chatting away. Gourry was ahead of them and marching right to the inn. The three of them decided that they would stop there to grab a quick bite, and Zel could ask about a place with local history and maps. Zel was dreading his return to that place. He even thought of camping out in the wilderness for the night instead. He still had some of the dried food he'd packed when leaving Seyruun at the beginning of their adventure. Plus, it wasn't like he needed much to eat anyway. But since Amelia had made a big deal about them needing to plan the next steps as a group, the whole group was going to the town for food and lodging.

"This is a great place. They have lots of different options of food," Gourry explained. "We stopped here on the way to attack the bandits." Gourry was so proud he remembered the place from earlier in the day. Zel and Amelia didn't have the heart to tell him they had also stopped there.

"You guys go ahead. I think I am going to find a quiet spot to start going through the journals," Zel said, as he turned away from them.

"But, Mr. Zelgadis, you didn't have any breakfast other than tea. And we were going to make a plan! You're the most important member of our group when it comes to planning," Amelia replied with a worried look. "Please. It will go faster if we all work on going through the journals together." Her face lit up at the thought of the team all sitting together reading quietly.

Zel was about to reply with a reason why he needed a little bit of quiet time. Lina did not give him the chance. She grabbed him from behind and put him in a choke hold. "He's just being shy. Thinks we forgot about the locket and the cute lady waiting for its return," she said, as she pulled him into the inn.

Amelia followed close behind. "Really, Miss Lina, you don't always have to be so rough. Don't worry, Mr. Zelgadis, I'll do all the talking. I know you're nervous around people you don't know." She gave him a comforting smile as she passed them both and headed towards the desk.

Zel gave a big sigh. At least this would be over. With everyone else there, hopefully, he would still be able to explore the town for helpful information. And with Amelia explaining everything, he should only have to do minimal talking...or standing there being looked at with disgust.

Lina let go of Zel's neck and gave him a gentle push. "You'll see, Zel, there's nothing to be afraid of. And you have us for back-up."

She hoped she was right. She knew why Zel wanted to have someone else give back the locket. People always judged him by his rocky and very demon-like appearance. Even she did it when they first met. But deep down, Zel was a sweet guy who just wanted to help his fellow people. It was years of having people mistreat him that made him build the stony skin around his heart to match what Rezo cursed him with.

Zel felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up even more than usual for his wire hair. He wanted to run away and leave his friends to have their nice evening alone. He thought he could push the locket into Amelia's hand and bolt back the way they came in. Then, everyone would be happy. He could find a cave or hidden hole until tomorrow and go to a library or bookstore by himself. He didn't really need everyone tagging along with him.

Just as he'd made his mind up that running was the best course of action, Zel made eye contact with Amelia. She smiled back with so much happiness. He knew how sad she would be if he left, but he did not want her to see the dark side of the world he'd come to live in. She had too much hope in humanity. She was a lot like the kind of person he was before Rezo changed him. He would run so she would not have to experience his world. She could keep hoping and believing in people. He went over to Amelia and grabbed her wrist.

"I forgot I have to do something really quick. I'll meet you in the town square tomorrow morning," Zel said in a rush. He pushed the locket into her hand without making eye contact. Then, he looked at an open window high up on the wall. Zel ran and jumped through it, knowing if he turned around to head out the door, Lina would try to stop him.

"Wait….Mr. Zelgadis!" Amelia called after him, but it was too late. He was gone. This didn't feel right to her. He should be the one getting the credit and the gratitude. He was the only one who saw past a broken, worthless trinket to the true value underneath. He cared enough about a stranger to want to return something that they'd most likely given up hope on ever seeing again. He was the hero here. Why couldn't he see that?

"It's okay, Amelia. Just give back the locket and let's get something to eat," Lina sighed. She and Gourry walked to a nearby table.

Amelia went to the inn's front desk. "Excuse me, I was wondering if the server that was working earlier today was still here?" The man at the desk pointed to the kitchen entrance in the dining room where the woman was looking at Lina and Gourry with weary eyes.

"Thank you," said Amelia. As she walked toward the server, she was suddenly nervous but not quite sure why.

"Pardon me. I don't know if you'll remember me and I'm sorry to bother you. I have...well, really it was my friend from this morning. Remember the man drinking tea at that back table?"

At the mention of Mr. Zelgadis, the server's eye went wide. She quickly scanned the room to make sure she didn't miss him. She looked scared.

"No, he's really nice. There's nothing to worry about. Anyway, he found this when we were fighting the bandits, and asked me to give it to you."

Amelia held out the locket. "Sorry the chain is broken. I'm sure it can be fixed," Amelia said with a smile. The server now looked like she was going to cry.

"Where is he?", the woman asked. She seemed very serious.

"Oh, he just left a few moments ago. Said he'd forgotten something but he'd be back later," Amelia answered. She wasn't too sure why the lady suddenly wanted Mr. Zelgadis.

The woman pushed her way past Amelia and ran out the door. That was weird, she thought. Could she be going to look for Mr. Zelgadis? I hope that will be okay.

Meanwhile, Zel felt like he could breathe again. He was resting in the square in the middle of the town. There were stalls set up for a local market, but they were all empty in the late afternoon. Everyone mostly journeyed home for dinner. It was eerie how quiet this place was since it seemed like a place that should be full of life. He did find a Historian Shop but it appeared to be closed for the day. No matter. He could always stop by early tomorrow. Now, he just had to head to the woods to find a campsite for the night.

Hopefully, Zel thought, I'll find the location I need and be on my way before anyone even noticed my absence. He would find the cure on his own or not come back. He was tired of trying. Even though he knew his friends cared, they would never truly understand. Zel started walking into the darkness of the woods on the edge of town.

"Wait!", he heard someone yell from behind him. He didn't recognize the voice and assumed they weren't talking to him.

"WAIT!", the voice yelled again, but louder this time. "SIR, PLEASE!"

This time, Zel turned around to check what was going on. Why would someone ignore the pleas of a kind voice who just wanted them to wait? He made eye contact with the woman from the locket and he panicked. It was him that was ignoring the voice! All he could think was Why didn't I continue to walk away? Why did I let my curiosity get the best of me?

Zel didn't know what to do. He could run, and make it to the woods, but he wouldn't be able to return to the village after. Would she tell everyone to keep an eye out for him? What could she possibly want with him?

He decided it might be best to just get this part over with. She'd get out whatever she had to say and move on. He didn't plan on heading back to the inn anyway, so they shouldn't have another run in. He would let her yell, or cry, or do what she needed to since she wouldn't get the opportunity with the real villains that tortured this town. If she needed a bad person to confront, he could do that for her.

It's no skin off my nose. Not like it will hurt me, Zel thought, but he knew that was nothing more than a lie.

Now she was only a few feet away. She hadn't broken eye contact with him once. Zel took in a deep breath and held it when she came to a stop. Please be quick, he thought quietly.

"Um...hello. I am Fayanna. You…I mean. This morning, I served you a cup of tea…at the inn. Do you…uh…remember?", she said.

Zel looked away and nodded his head. He could hear the nervousness in her voice. Probably didn't think this through when she left the inn.

"Of course you remember. Your friend said you asked her to give me back my mother's locket. You knew it was mine from the picture," Fayanna explained, really more to herself then to Zel.

"I thought I would never hold it again…I just wanted to…I can't explain how much this…"

She trailed off. He thought she was trying to thank him, but he knew he was making her nervous. Zel decided to end this.

"I am glad you have your locket again," he said without looking at her. He let the statement hang in the air for a moment, then turned back to the woods. Maybe she really hadn't blamed him. That was a miracle he never believed would happen. He assumed from her nervousness he had overstayed his welcome, and decided to take his leave.

When he turned, Fayanna panicked. She hadn't finished what she was trying to say and felt like an ass. This morning, all she wanted was for this person who looked like a monster to leave and never come back. Now, thanks to him, she was holding a treasure she thought she'd never see again. And, from the way two of his company were talking, he'd cleared out the bandit camp. He had saved the village! It seemed unreal that it looked like he was going to hide in the woods waiting for his friends. She felt awful that he'd felt so unwanted he gave the locket to a friend to return. She had to try to make up for her mistake.

On a whim, Fayanna leaned forward and wrapped herself around him in a hug. He immediately tensed under her touch. She wasn't exactly sure of the right move at that moment, but she didn't want to let him wander off alone and unappreciated.

"Thank you, and I'm so sorry about this morning." She pressed her face into the kind stranger's back and began to cry. "You brought back something so precious to me. The least I can do is make you a cup of tea in return. Please come back to the inn."

Zel wasn't sure what to do now. This wasn't anything like what he'd expected to happen. No one had ever done this before. No one ever said sorry for how they have treated him. How should he react?

"Alright, I'll come back. You don't…you don't have to cry." Zel reached up, patted her arms wrapped around his front, and the two of them stayed like that for a while. Neither really knew where to go from there.


End file.
